Tag: Catholicism

Simple Catholic Snapshots

How would you explain Catholic Christianity to an outsider? Could you even begin to concisely describe your faith? After a bit of struggling, here is what I think it means, and what it takes, to be Catholic.

To Be Catholic Means:

Be Validly Baptized With the Form and Matter of Baptism as Subscribed by Jesus Christ

Believing and Professing the Required Teachings of the Catholic Church on Faith and Morals

Participate in the Communion of the Church by Living a Sacramental Life of Obedience of the Faith

A good friend of mine recently loaned me a movie entitled “For Greater Glory” which is a chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929); the grass roots response of Mexican Catholics against the oppressive atheistic Mexican government.

Normally, this might be just another shoot-em-up action movie but given the current pressures against the Catholic Church, religious freedom in the United States and the persecution of Christians in the world, this movie represents so much more.

I’m sure that by now most of you have heard the tragic story of little Charlie Gard. The medical and legal battles surrounding 11-month old Charlie have brought global attention to the meaning of life and the proper dignity of death. More specifically, the swirl has centered on the question of who determines the value of human life and who bears the burden and responsibility for making end-of-life decisions. It seems the legal maneuvering and skirmishes for temporal control of Charlie’s destiny will soon be over. The dust will settle and we will soon begin to forget. As tragic as Charlie’s physical situation may seem to be, a real tragedy will result if we do forget and fail to learn. In this blog I would like to offer some personal commentary and observations in the case of Charlie Gard – as testimony to his precious life and its immense value. Continue reading “The Blessed Legacy of Charlie Gard”

Our story really begins about 200 years ago in a small Midwestern country village. A young 30-something visionary started getting a lot of positive press after making premier wines and pioneering some astonishing medical cures. The people of the times were restless, not satisfied with the old humdrum pastimes of baseball and cornhole so the visionary went into action. He recognized the need for a new game, one that would take the world by storm and promise years and years of enjoyment. He nailed a wooden peach basket to a tree, basketball was founded, and people began to follow the game with a passion.

Simple Catholic Snapshots

“The Case for Christ” was a 1998 non-fiction novel by Atheist-turned-Christian investigative journalist Lee Strobel. A movie adaptation of this best-selling book was released in theaters April 7th, 2017.

The Atheist Lee Strobel undertakes to disprove the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (and thus debunk Christianity entirely) by honestly, systematically and rigorously examining the physical evidence for the Resurrection.

Using his highly refined research and analysis skills, Lee examines the Resurrection story from many perspectives including the authenticity of the Bible, methods and effectiveness of a Roman crucifixion, the psychology of mass hallucinations, archaeology and theology.

SPOILER ALERT: In the end, Lee is overwhelmed by the consistency and irrefutable nature of the evidence and concludes that, as a matter of fact, the Resurrection of Christ did occur. Shortly thereafter he converts to Christianity.

I saw this movie a couple of days ago and shared a positive reaction to the presentation and Christian message with many in the audience.

That said, as the credits rolled past, I wondered how many of my Protestant brothers and sisters in the audience would accept an investigative challenge to their particular faith as Lee Strobel did? How many would ever examine their beliefs and practices in light of the complete 2000 year history of Christianity and let the evidence lead them where it may?